Jorge Mario Bergoglio was born to Italian immigrant dad and mom in Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina, in 1936, the oldest of 5 youngsters. He attended a Catholic grade college, then graduated from a commerce highschool with a chemical technician diploma, occurring to work in a meals laboratory.

By the point he was 21 years outdated, he had endured pneumonia so extreme it threatened his life, and suffered cysts on a lung … prompting surgical procedure to take away a part of one among his lungs. That will have an effect on the remainder of his life, even to his ultimate days.

At 22, he was impressed to check at an Argentine seminary, and three years later traveled to Chile to check additional. At 24, he formally took steps to grow to be a Jesuit again in Argentina, and he was ordained as a priest in 1969, at 33, and in 1973, he took his ultimate vows as a Jesuit.

He reached the rank of Roman Catholic cardinal in 2001, appointed by Pope John Paul II, and have become more and more concerned in political workplaces of the church, whereas sustaining a popularity for social justice points and a easy way of life.

When John Paul II died in 2005, Bergoglio was among the many cardinals in rivalry to be chosen as the brand new pope, however the conclave elected Pope Benedict XVI. Benedict resigned from the Papacy as a result of well being points in February 2013. He was the primary Pope to voluntarily step down since 1415.

In March 2013, and Bergoglio was elected Pope on the second day of the conclave, and took the identify Francis, in honor of Saint Francis of Assisi … primarily due to the saint’s work with the poor. He was the primary Pope to take the identify Francis.

Bergoglio was additionally the primary Pope from Latin America, and the primary Jesuit. He selected to not stay within the Papal residence within the Vatican, choosing a visitor home as a substitute.

He spoke Spanish, Italian, German, English, French, Portuguese, and naturally, Latin.

Francis died on Easter Monday, April 21, 2025, in his Vatican residence. He had bronchitis for weeks, resulting in pneumonia in each lungs. He suffered a stroke, which led to a coma and cardiac arrest. He was 88.